Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of New Caledonia, you would:

Health

live 3.8 years less

In New Caledonia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024. In Nicaragua, that number is 75 years (72 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2024.

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Economy

be 54.9% less likely to be unemployed

In New Caledonia, 11.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Nicaragua, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.

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make 89.1% less money

New Caledonia has a GDP per capita of $29,213 as of 2024, while in Nicaragua, the GDP per capita is $3,173 as of 2025.

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Life

have 36.4% more children

In New Caledonia, there are approximately 14.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Nicaragua, there are 19.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 14.8% less likely to be literate

In New Caledonia, the literacy rate is 96.9% as of 2015. In Nicaragua, it is 82.6% as of 2015.

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Basic Needs

be 11.7% less likely to have access to electricity

In New Caledonia, approximately 100% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Nicaragua, that number is 88% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2023.

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be 25.1% less likely to have internet access

In New Caledonia, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Nicaragua, about 61.4% do as of 2024.

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Geography

see 59.6% less coastline

New Caledonia has a total of 2,254 km of coastline. In Nicaragua, that number is 910 km.

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Infrastructure

find 70.2% less home broadband

New Caledonia has 19.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Nicaragua has 5.8 as of 2024.

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Environment

emit 95.1% less CO2

New Caledonia emits 17.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Nicaragua emits 0.8 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), The World Factbook (2015–2021). How we calculate this

Compare further: New Caledonia vs. Nicaragua

Cost of Living Comparison · 7 categories - 2026 data
Nicaragua is 54.5% cheaper than New Caledonia overall
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Size Comparison · See true size
New Caledonia is about 7 times smaller than Nicaragua.
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Moving from New Caledonia to Nicaragua · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→

Nicaragua: At a glance

Nicaragua is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 119,990 sq km. The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. After losing free and fair elections in 1990, 1996, and 2001, former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. The 2008 municipal elections, 2010 regional elections, 2011 presidential elections, 2012 municipal elections, and 2013 regional elections were marred by widespread irregularities. Nicaragua's infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the earlier civil war and by Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.
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How big is Nicaragua compared to New Caledonia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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